


Mistakes

by landsail0r



Series: Neon Sunrise [3]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, but i don't have it in my tiny gay heart to make this end badly fear not, okay in full fairness this one is a lot less fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-12 15:44:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5671405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/landsail0r/pseuds/landsail0r
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Out of the blue, Dorian receives a phone call from his estranged father, and in a misjudged attempt to cope he drinks entirely too much. Krem comes over to make sure he's okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Phone Call

It was just after four PM the following afternoon when Krem’s phone rang. He jumped, nearly dropping his bag on the busy sidewalk as he fumbled in his pocket for the phone. As he was about to answer it abruptly stopped ringing, and in confusion he switched on the screen. The lists of texts, all from the same number, ran off the bottom of the screen, and he stopped in a doorway with confusion that quickly turned into concern. The first text was asking him to come over, and the second was an address. These had been sent more than an hour ago. The following texts became progressively less intelligible, and the last one seemed to have been sent by accident. The call had probably been an accident too. Frowning, Krem hitched his bag further up on his shoulder and called Dorian back.

The phone rang several times before Dorian answered, and his “Hello?” was strangely muffled.

“Why did you text me? Are you okay?”

“No.”

Krem waited, but Dorian did not elaborate. “Do you want me to come over?” Krem asked tentatively.

The line was silent for another second. “Yeah.” Dorian hung up.

Krem was shoving his phone back in his pocket in frustration when he realized that the reason Dorian had sounded so strange was that his usually perfect diction was slurred. He was either ill or very drunk. Krem turned around and hurried back to his car, not bothering to fix his bag as it slid down his arm again.

The address Dorian had given him was only a fifteen-minute drive away, but Krem spent the entirety of the trip growing more and more anxious. When he finally parked he nearly jumped out of the car with his seat belt still on, and he made it up the two flights of stairs in under ten seconds. Dorian did not answer the first time he knocked on the door, and after waiting impatiently for a few seconds Krem knocked again more loudly. When Dorian opened the door Krem let out an audible sigh of relief, but then tensed again as he looked more closely at Dorian.

His hair was awry, limp strands falling into his eyes, which were swollen and red as if he had been crying. An angry flush covered his dark cheeks, ears, and upper chest, exposed by a half-buttoned shirt. He was leaning against the wall, one hand draped over the doorknob.

“What happened? Are you all right?”

Dorian huffed unhelpfully, but moved slightly to the side so Krem could enter. He stood up as if to walk by Krem’s side, but after a few steps he began to sway precariously, and if Krem had not caught him he would have fallen heavily against the wall. As it was he couldn’t seem to manage the coordination to make it back to the couch, and instead sat heavily on the floor. There was an empty bottle of wine on the floor, and beside it sat a bottle of cheap vodka from which an appreciable amount was also missing. 

Krem knelt at Dorian’s side, brushing the hair out of his face reflexively. “What happened?”

Dorian opened his mouth as if to explain, then closed it again and covered it with his hand, looking alarmed. He picked his phone up off the carpet and fiddled with it for several seconds, clearly having trouble coordinating his fingers. “Listen,” he mumbled as he handed it to Krem, and Krem pressed the phone against his ear.

The man’s voice was deep and had the same care of phrasing that Dorian usually demonstrated. “Son, I know you were very convinced that this is your only choice, but I urge you to reconsider. Your mother and I are heartbroken that you’ve let this fracture our family in this way. We’ve always been here for you, and we’ll continue to be here if you decide to return. We love you.”

“Should’ve changed my number,” Dorian slurred, accepting the phone from Krem. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. “’M sorry you have to... see me like this.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. You’re a mess.”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t come. No offense.” Dorian waved his hand vaguely. “You’re gonna think of this, you know, when I…” He trailed off, clearly troubled, and placed one hand over his forehead. “I think I’m going to throw up.” 

Dorian stumbled to his feet, and Krem hastily rose and helped him to the bathroom. After he had finished, Dorian leaned against a cabinet and attempted a grin. “You’re very handsome,” he said, stroking Krem’s cheek with clumsy fingers.

“I hate to say it, but you’ve looked a lot better.”

Krem brought Dorian a cup of water, which he sipped carefully, still sprawled across the tile. “I’m sorry,” Dorian said finally, and his words were a little clearer than before. “I fucked up. A lot.”

“Can’t argue with that. I’m glad I made it over, though.” Krem sighed raggedly. “You could have passed out, hit your head on something… I—” All of a sudden Krem realized how frightened he had been. He felt hollow, bitter, and was all of a sudden holding back tears. “I’m glad nothing bad happened.”

When Dorian had finished the water, Krem hesitantly walked with him back the couch. Dorian seemed slightly more able to support his own weight, but his steps still weaved back and forth. As soon as Krem sat down next to him, Dorian laid his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, his breathing began to even into a sleepy rhythm, and Krem rested his arm across Dorian’s shoulders and held him close.


	2. Early Morning

Krem woke up in confusion. Save for the single lamp in the living room, the apartment was dark, and he stood up quickly and stumbled into the kitchen. The street outside the window was quiet and still, parked cars illuminated by the sickly gold of the street lamps. The clock on the oven said it was just after one AM, and less than a second after reading the time he belatedly realized that he could have just checked his phone. He could hear Dorian stirring in the other room.

Krem leaned against the counter, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. He hadn’t intended to fall asleep, let alone nap for more than seven hours. Thankfully he hadn’t had anything planned for tonight, though he had been hoping to tidy up his studio a little. Navigating by the dim light from outside, he found a glass and filled it with water at the sink before going back into the living room.

Dorian was stretched out on the couch, an arm draped over his eyes, but he was clearly awake now. He moved his arm to look blearily at Krem, blinking a few times. “I thought you would be gone by now.”

“I fell asleep too.” Krem sat down on the arm of the couch. “I’m glad to see you’re doing okay.”

“Wouldn’t quite go that far,” Dorian muttered, throwing his arm back over his eyes. “I’m going to be paying for my poor judgment for the next several hours at least.”

Krem sipped his water. “How much do you remember?”

Dorian sighed and sat up, looking pained. “I remember asking you to come over, and I remember you being here. Not sure about the bit when you arrived. I think… I showed you the message, right?”

Krem nodded.

“Well, at least I don’t have to explain why all this happened, then—not that it justifies it.” Dorian placed his head in his hands. “I feel like I should mention that I don’t make a habit of doing this. I just…” He trailed off, looking around the room. “Why did I drink that vodka? It’s terrible.”

Krem chuckled. “I was going to say—I thought you had better taste.”

“I didn’t buy it, a college friend did. For some ungodly reason I hauled it out here when I moved. Didn’t want to waste it, I guess. Should’ve poured it down the drain.” He stood up slowly, groaning, and shuffled around for a bit tidying up. “What time is it?” he asked, holding the empty wine bottle.

“One, maybe one thirty now.”

“In the morning? Damn.” He brushed his hair out of his face. “Listen, I’m going to take a shower. You can go home if you want, but if you don’t want to drive that far in the middle of the night you can stay here. Bedroom is around the corner—” he gestured listlessly, “though you’re probably not sleepy. I’ll be back in a bit.” He set the bottle down on a shelf and slouched into the bathroom.

Krem sat on the couch for a few more minutes before realizing he was hungry. He felt odd taking Dorian’s food without asking, though, so instead he poked around the kitchen until he found a coffee maker. The machine had just finished when Dorian came out of the bathroom looking significantly less haggard than he had before, a white towel wrapped around his waist. He took the coffee that Krem offered him and sipped it cautiously, leaning against the counter. 

Krem looked down at his own mug, trying not to watch Dorian too closely. He glanced up without meaning to, however, and even though he had never taken an art history class he had a sense that Dorian had rather a lot in common with a classical statue. He blushed and looked away again, and Dorian laughed quietly and crossed the kitchen to stand in front of Krem.

“What has you flustered? My remarkable good looks?”

His face was very close to Krem’s, and his green eyes glowed in the dim light. “Something like that,” Krem murmured, distracted.

Dorian kissed him on the lips for a long moment, then again on the forehead. “We’ve had sex. This shouldn’t be surprising for you.

“It’s not surprising, it’s just… intimidating, I guess?”

Dorian took a step back, looking genuinely confused. “I don’t understand.”

Krem set his mug down on the counter and crossed his arms. “When I was—even before I came out as trans, I felt like there was no way I could be desirable. In high school, I had a boyfriend, and while we were dating I started realizing what my gender was, and that it wasn’t at all what anyone had thought, and I told him, and he told me that no man would want me if I kept on with that. It’s silly, I mean—he was a jerk, and I broke up with him a little while later, but…” Krem paused, looking down. “It stuck with me. I had hoped it would get better when I started transitioning, but for the first year people just looked at me like I was an alien. Things are better now, but I still have a hard time believe that people could desire me and care about me the way that I am, without wanting me to be different.”

The kitchen was silent for a few seconds, and then Dorian wrapped his arms around Krem gently. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I know what it feels like, to think that you couldn’t be loved and be yourself at the same time. And I don’t know if it will mean anything, but you’re one of the most genuine people I’ve known in a long time. And it’s lovely, and you’re lovely, and… well, you’re also incredibly attractive. That bit doesn’t hurt.”

Krem laughed. “Thanks.”

“I’m serious! For all that I praise myself, I’m surprised that someone like yourself would actively choose to spend time with a wreck like me.” Dorian laughed softly, but something about his tone made Krem doubt that he was entirely joking.

Krem wrapped his arms around Dorian’s hips and drew him into a kiss, and Dorian relaxed into his arms. They remained like that for several seconds, but then Dorian pulled away. “I’m sorry, I still feel like shit. I don’t know that I’m up for anything other than just… being here with you right now.”

“That’s fine.” Krem put a hand on his arm. “You don’t need to apologize for that.”

“Do you want to sit in bed and watch bad television?” Dorian brushed his hair back, suddenly awkward. “I feel like I’m going to owe you a nice dinner after putting you through all this, but I can’t do that tonight.”

Krem smiled. “Yeah. That would be good. You don’t owe me anything, though.” They were partway down the hall when Krem added, “Not that I would turn you down if you asked me to dinner.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the third installment of the series Neon Sunrise, but it will likely not be the last! If you enjoyed it, please leave kudos and/or comments and keep an eye out for further updates.


End file.
